


Boyfriend Hoodie

by DocProfessor



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-02-29 19:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18784408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DocProfessor/pseuds/DocProfessor
Summary: Both Ryuji and Ann have their own thoughts on what would make the perfect significant other. (ON HIATUS)





	1. “I need a girlfriend who like. Gets me. Y’know? Like we’re on the same wavelength”

Ryuji’s phone buzzed when he was halfway down the stairs. He stopped walking, attempting to shift the laundry basket he was carrying to one arm, but it was far too cumbersome to hold. Especially when one false move would send him ass over teakettle on the stairs. He made a mental note to answer it once he got to the laundry room, but that was unnecessary, as his phone buzzed again at the bottom of the stairs. Then again as he walked around the outside of the apartment building and across the street. And one more time when he finally set the laundry basket down on top of one of the machines. “What the hell is so important?!”

He was finally able to fish his phone out of his pocket to see four new messages from Ann.

**BanAnnA:** Ryuji help me  
**BanAnnA:** Ryuji I said help me  
**BanAnnA:** U R useless to me!!!!!!!!!  
**BanAnnA:** Am I still Banana in ur phone?!?!

He rolled his eyes and typed as fast as he could before she sent him something else.

**Me:** Would you relax?! I was in the middle of something!

He barely had time to put his phone back in his pocket and move to load the washer before it buzzed again. Damn, she was fast.

**BanAnnA:** Oh come on!!! Ur supposed to drop everything when ur best friend needs u!!

**Me:** I was carrying laundry down the stairs! You wanted me to literally drop that?

**BanAnnA:** YES!!!  
**BanAnnA:** U gotta save me everyone here is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring!!!!!

**Me:** Where r u? I thought u had a modeling thing?

**BanAnnA:** YEAH and now everyone is partying but I’m the only teenager here so theyre all drinking without me!! I have NO ONE to talk to!

He let Ann anguish in her lonely misery as he loaded the washer. Once it was full and running, he responded.

**Me:** What do u want me to do about it?

**BanAnnA:** I need you to ENTERTAIN ME…  
**BanAnnA:** (Pretend I dramatically draped myself over a couch as I said that)  
**BanAnnA:** Just talk to me. Im stuck here for hours with nothing to do

Ann had created a pitiful mental image for him. He could picture her sneaking away to some private room of a bar to fling herself onto the nearest piece of furniture and hope for salvation from her phone’s screen.

**Me:** I don’t have anything cool going on here too… I’m just doing laundry for my mom while shes out for the night

**BanAnnA:** PERFECT! We’re both stuck!

Ryuji couldn’t argue with that. All he planned to do was browse the internet while he waited for the washer to finish.

**Me:** Are u really just ignoring everyone right now?

**BanAnnA:** lol actually I kinda locked myself in the bathroom to get away from them. It’s only got one stall too so now no one gets to use it >:3

**Me:** Diabolical!

**BanAnnA:** turns out im a real supervillain!  
**BanAnnA:** I always thought the villains were cooler. Like the ladies who would do the “HOHOHOHOHO” laugh? I want to BEEEEE that

**Me:** You mean like the evil queens and stuff?

**BanAnnA:** YEAH!!! I want to be like an evil queen who sends minions after the heroes!  
**BanAnnA:** Id wear like a long black dress and have a fan and sit on a throne all day

**Me:** And watch the heroes through a magic mirror in your throne room!

**BanAnnA:** YEAH! YOU GET IT!

**Me:** But dont you lose all the time?

**BanAnnA:** Who cares?! They never KILL me! I just send more minions at them and get to live in a bigass castle with tons of evil servants!

**Me:** Oh damn yeah thats right huh? You never gotta get your hands dirty!

**BanAnnA:** The evil queen who never fights until the VERY END but theyre CRAZY STRONG!! Id want a cool rose thorn whip that cuts things up so bad they DISINIGRATE  
**BanAnnA:** Disintegrate

**Me:** Dude! You could be, like, The Evil Panther Queen!

**BanAnnA:** PANTHER QUEEN  
**BanAnnA:** PUT THAT AS MY NAME IN UR PHONE

Ryuji laughed, but he had to agree. It was a cooler name than the one he’d been using since they started high school. He was in the middle of pacing the laundry room and updating her contact name when she texted him again.

**Panther Queen:** Whats ur favorite character in those shows anyway?

**Me:** Dude the rival characters! They’re always the coolest!

**Panther Queen:** Really???? I thought you’d be all about the team leader!

**Me:** No way the rival is always cooler than the hero! He gets to always be a LITTLE stronger and he gets a cooler weapon  
**Me:** Plus every time he shows up, it’s always a big deal!

**Panther Queen:** Oooohhh and he gets to say stuff like “IM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DEFEAT YOU”

**Me:** YEAH. Thats what I wanna be. I wanna do cool stuff like duel the hero with the moon behind us y’know?

**Panther Queen:** YOUD BE LIKE META KNIGHT!!

Meta Knight?!

**Me:** Where the hell’d that come from?! Why was HE ur first thought?!

**Panther Queen:** Whats wrong w/Meta Knight? He’s cool!

**Me:** Ur talkin about Kirby’s Meta Knight, right?

**Panther Queen:** Is there ANOTHER Meta Knight?!

Ryuji had no idea how to respond. Evidently, his idea of a cool rival character and Ann’s idea were different. Once again, Ann beat him to the punch.

**Panther Queen:** Ur silence says everything. Do u… not like… Kirby?  
**Panther Queen:** (This is supposed to be accusatory)

**Me:** I like Kirby! Kirby’s cool!

**Panther Queen:** ……………  
**Panther Queen:** (eyein u suspiciously)

**Me:** HE IS! I was just thinkin more Feather Falcon Black than…  
**Me:** Meta Knight.

**Panther Queen:** Oooooooohhh Falcon Black was so cool last season…

**Me:** Remember when he stormed Feather Base all by himself?!

**Panther Queen:** YESSSSSS! That scene where him and Red clashed and there was that EXPLOSION of wind?!?!

**Me** : HELL YEAH! I WANNA BE THAT!

**Panther Queen:** OMG!! YOU WOULD TOTALLY BE MY LACKEY!!!!

Ryuji was going to continue with other moments from Falcon Black before Ann’s newest message interrupted him. He quickly deleted what he was typing to instead respond with

**Me:** WHAT??? Why would I be ur lackey?!

**Panther Queen:** Cuz Falcon Black was just a henchman before he got his powers! Thats how rivals go!

**Me:** I’m not gonna be ur lackey! Youre the type who would be like “YOUVE FAILED ME FOR THE LAST TIME” and destroy your henchmen!

**Panther Queen:** Noooooooooooooooo! Youd be the only one I wouldnt destroy! Youd be too cool for that! Youd be my Skull Knight!

Again, all it took was one sentence to throw him off. For some reason his fingers were suddenly shaking.

**Me:** Your Skull Knight?

**Panther Queen:** Yeah yeah yeah! Like my most loyal lieutenant!  
**Panther Queen:** (lol spellcheck totally got that one for me)  
**Panther Queen:** Id be like “GO DESTROY THOSE HEROES ONCE AND FOR ALL”  
**Panther Queen:** And youd draw your sword like “Yes, your majesty” IT WOULD BE THE COOLEST  
**Panther Queen:** OMG! Do u think Yusuke would draw us if we asked him??? U SHOULD TOTALLY HIT HIM UP FOR COMMISSIONS!

Ryuji was grateful this conversation was happening via text. And he was grateful Ann was keeping herself occupied for the moment. Otherwise Ann might think something was up. He was getting worked up at the idea of being Ann’s knight. Not even really Ann’s knight. The fake anime Ann they were inventing for fun. He ran his fingers through his hair and shook the weird feelings out of his head.

**Me:** What makes you say I’d be so loyal to you in the first place?

**Panther Queen:** What? Duh! Because ur YOU and u know u cant ever say no to me!

**Me:** I say no to you all the time!

**Panther Queen:** Dude youve been talking to me for like an hour because I said I was bored :P

**Me:** okay fine youre right

**Panther Queen:** You’d never betray me!  
**Panther Queen:** Unlike the band of minions that try to usurp me and I catch wind of their plan and send you to take care of it

**Me:** “You think I would allow you to hatch such a plot against my beloved Queen?”  
**Me:** And then cut to black and a sword sound and screaming

**Panther Queen:** YES!!!!!! SO COOL!!!!  
**Panther Queen:** Ooooooohhh beloved~ I like the way that sounds

Ryuji swallowed hard. That tightening in his chest was back. He didn’t know how to respond to that, much less why he typed it that way in the first place. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard until Ann sent him another message

**Panther Queen:** Oh crap my battery’s about to die!!! Thanks for keeping me occupied I’ll see u later!!

Saved for now. He quickly typed in “See ya!” and then collapsed in a plastic lawn chair next to the washing machines. Why did he say that? Why did she respond that way?

Whatever. Whatever! It didn’t mean anything, whatever he said. Ann clearly didn’t think so. He was being ridiculous over nothing.

Beloved. Whatever. He was just getting in-character. And even if it did, Ann liked it. At least she didn’t mind it. He opened his messages again, rereading her response. “I like the way that sounds”

Akira. Akira would know how to handle a situation like this. Ryuji pulled up his contact and let his thumbs hover over the keyboard before slowly realizing there was no good way to explain this situation. How does a guy tell his bro that he might’ve accidentally fake-confessed in an imaginary setting?

Besides. He didn’t. Really. Have feelings. For Ann.

He finished up the rest of the laundry and headed back inside. His mother still had more chores to do, and they served as a good distraction to let him forget. Out of sight, out of mind.

Or so he kept telling himself. He kept glancing at his phone while washing the dishes. Kept hearing phantom buzzing, but no actual messages from anyone. It got to the point where, once he crossed off the last on his mom’s list, he just kept going. Might as well dust the bookshelf and the coffee table. Probably should clean the windows, might as well. Since it’s there. Something to do. 

Until he literally couldn’t do any more besides walk to his bed and collapse on top of it. It was already past midnight and he was exhausted. He plugged his phone and let it drop on the nightstand. He managed to keep his eyes open to check one last time for any new messages, but it was still tragically blank. He groaned and when his eyes shut, they didn’t open. Not even when the phone vibrated on the nightstand, four times in a row.

**Panther Queen:** Your queen arrived home safe!  
**Panther Queen:** Thanks again for keepin me company  
**Panther Queen:** See ya later Skull Knight  
**Panther Queen:** <3 


	2. Chapter 2

Being a model, Ann had a strong social media following. Although if someone were hoping to find her Instagram account full of photos of her in cute or sexy outfits, they would be sorely disappointed. Ann’s account was mostly full of desserts she was eating, desserts that she wanted to eat, strange animals she saw walking through the city, and, very rarely, an actual picture of herself.

Ryuji was one of her followers, of course. So were the rest of the Thieves. It wasn’t a big deal. It was only natural for friends to follow one another. Except… Recently, Ryuji had been thinking about their friendship.

Ann hadn’t specifically said anything about the conversation they had that night two weeks ago. But it felt like she was acting differently around him. Maybe. She was paying more attention to him. Standing a little closer to him when they went out as a group. Smiling a little brighter, laughing a little harder at his jokes. Maybe. Maybe he just THOUGHT she was doing all of that.

For those few days, he found himself analyzing everything she did around him, intentionally or otherwise. She sent him a heart. She’d never done that before. It didn’t have anything attached to it, but it was a heart. Hearts tend to mean things in the world of texting.

He even thought about outright asking her out. Not because he wanted to actually date her. Well, part of him wouldn’t mind dating her. But mostly he just wanted to ask so he’d at least know where they stood.

But time passed and nothing changed. As much as he thought about it, he couldn’t work up the courage to actually do the deed. Nothing he rehearsed in his head sounded right, and eventually it stopped being the dominant thought. Ryuji’s nerves stopped being so fried and it allowed him to determine he was reading into little quirks that weren’t there. Ann was his friend. She was being friendly because that’s what friends do. So Ryuji stopped thinking about it.

However, there was still the occasional strange little tingle in the back of his mind. A little voice, barely a whisper, like a commentary in his mind, drawing attention to those little quirks. For instance, two days ago, she asked HIM for help with her math homework. She told him it would be easier to figure out if the two of them worked on it together, instead of having a tutor explain it to her. He couldn’t, or didn’t want to refute her, so he agreed, and they set a time one afternoon to figure things out.

Perhaps if they were better at planning, they might have practiced or done some studying on their own. Instead, Ryuji spent most of the day in Akira’s attic playing video games. Ann, according to her Instagram, spent most of the day with Futaba at an arcade in Akihabara.

Now, Ryuji was back home in his room, waiting for Ann to text him to come over, and he found himself scrolling through the photos she posted on her account that day. Most of them were of Futaba, eyes wide in awe behind thick glasses as she dove into the world of another arcade game. Some were photos of new game cabinets with a caption of just question marks. But there was one in particular that grabbed his attention. It was a photo of her hand underneath the blacklights, her fingernails glowing a bright, pale blue. It was captioned “I just painted my nails today and I didn’t know they would do this??”

He looked from his phone to his own hand, tilting his head in thought. How hard would it be to paint his own nails, he wondered. Maybe he could ask her. She could tell him where she got that nail polish. It would… look pretty cool. Why not, right? He already bleached his hair, why not take the extra step?

Unless she thought it would be weird. Or that he was making fun of her or something…

He scratched the back of his head. He was overthinking things AGAIN. If he wanted cool nail polish that glows under black light, he could get it himself! He didn’t need to involve Ann in everything he did!

He was just about to comment “Cool!!” on the picture when a text came in from her.

 **Panther Queen** : Okay im home! U can come over whenever!  
**Panther Queen** : TOTALLY ready to DO THIS THING!

 **Me** : Hell yeah! Be right there!

He grabbed his purple hoodie from the back of his desk chair and bounded down the stairs past his mom. “Bye Mom! I’ll be back tonight!”

He almost made it to the door before she called out to him and stopped him in his tracks. “You’re going out? Didn’t you just spend all day with Akira?! And isn’t it a school night?!”

“Yeah, that’s why I need to head back out! Me and Ann are gonna do our homework together!” He said, inching for the door. He was calculating if it was worth the effort to tie his shoes, or just slip them on and hope he wouldn’t trip before making it out the door.

From her spot on the couch, his mother turned to look directly at him, shaking her head at the perfect speed to clearly express how not mad but disappointed she was with him. “You spend all day playing video games and NOW you decide to do your homework? You didn’t think to do it with Akira?”

“It’s gonna get done now! I promise!” He protested.

Her glare continued and Ryuji could feel his foundation starting to crumble. Fortunately, her expression relaxed with a sigh. “Just don’t stay out too late and make sure you ACTUALLY do your work. Don’t fool around with her all night.”

Ryuji felt a chill go up his spine and made a mental note to explain to his mom what that actually meant.

However, he didn’t have time for that now. He finally made it out the door, stumbling down the stairs and out into the street. Once he was on the sidewalk, he pulled out his phone.

 **Me** : Jeeze! Did ur parents give you shit for spendin all day at the arcade instead of doin homework?

 **Panther Queen** : Nah theyre still not home. But they probly would if they knew lol!

There was the tickle at the back of his mind that compartmentalized the words of his mother warning him not to fool around with Ann, and the fact that her parents were not home. But the thought did not last for long, because he found himself distracted by a vending machine he walked past.

 **Me** : Hey I’m in front of a vending machine u want me to get u a drink?

 **Panther Queen** : YES pls get me something strawberry flavored!

 **Me** : Gotcha!

 **Panther Queen** : Hero!!!!

The vending machine had a variety of drinks, one of which happened to be a sour strawberry soda. It would have to do, plus it would be kind of funny to see her try to drink it. He bought one for her and a cola for himself.

When he arrived at her house, he stood in front of the door and texted her, because he was a teenager and ringing the doorbell was not an option.

 **Me** : I’m here!

From inside, he could hear the sound of her bounding down the stairs, and the door being unlocked. She flung it open, and he was surprised at the sight of her.

To anyone who wasn’t Ann’s friend, there would be nothing strange about her appearance. A blouse, skirt, black tights. Nothing he hadn’t seen her wearing countless times. And yet all the same, he raised his eyebrows and let out a “Whoa!”

“What?” She asked, the corner of her mouth turning up.

“Your hair!”

Ann reached for the back of her head. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail fitting someone who had been out all day and just came home to finally unwind. She curled it around her fingers almost defensively as she said “What about it?”

“I just- haven’t seen you without your pigtails since we were little.” Ryuji said.

“Whaaaaat? Yeah you have.”

Ryuji shook his head, passing her the soda she requested and stepping inside to set his backpack down near the stairs. “Mmmm, nope. It’s like seein’ an alien. You never let your hair down.”

She scoffed playfully at him, cracking open the can with a hiss of carbonation. “Well, consider yourself blessed, I guess.”

“C’mon, I’m just messing around.” _It’s cute_ were the words that entered his mind. “It looks good,” is what he actually said.

The smile she flashed him was also cute, but he kept that in his head as well. Halfway through the first sip of her drink, her eyes widened and she barely made it through swallowing. “What the hell?!” She looked down at the can with a bitter, twisted scowl. “You jackass!” She waved the can in front of his face.

Ryuji brushed her hand aside, laughing. “Hey, it’s strawberry like you asked! It was all they had!” His eyes followed her hand as she brought it back toward herself. He caught a glimpse of the white nail polish on her fingers and remembered he wanted to ask about that. The thought made his chest tighten for a moment.

She frowned at the beverage and tried it again. Her face twisted up. “This is awful. What kind of sadist would even want this?!”

“You want mine?” Ryuji asked. “It’s just cola. I swear.”

“Oh yeah, sure, gimme your pity soda,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “I’ll just learn to deal.” With another sip, her eyes widened and she half-choked as she tried to say the thought she just had. “Oh! You should see what I got at Akihabara today!”

She walked past him and gestured for him to follow her upstairs to her room. Being in there wasn’t a big deal, of course. He had been in there when they were younger. It didn’t necessarily mean anything for her to invite him up. One of the many things she and Ryuji had in common was a total lack of organization. With the amount of empty shopping bags scattered around the floor, on her bed, or tucked under her desk, as well as the clothes, posters, makeup, or other nicknacks that used to be in said bags, it was impossible to tell which was the new addition Ann wanted to show him.

“Check it out!” She helpfully said, bounding to her dresser. Displayed on top, slightly obscured by a purse he had never seen her use and a small pile of t-shirts, were an arrangement of colorful armored figures. He followed her further into her room to get a better look.

“No effin’ way! You got the whole set?!” He looked over to Ann, who was smiling proudly. The displayed figures were a complete Featherman roster. This set belonged to an older season, that Ryuji recognized immediately. “Phoenix Feathenger VS?! That’s from before we were even born!”

“I know!” Ann cheered. “But I used to catch reruns of the American version when I lived in Finland, so it always stuck with me.” She reached over to adjust their positions, rearranging them to display better. “Actually that’s what this set is from. The boxes were all in English and they had the Super Rangers Cyber Battle logo on them.”

“That’s so effin’ cool…” Ryuji said, stepping in for a closer look. “Where the hell’d you find these?”

“They had ‘em in this shop next to the arcade. It was, like, full of all this bootleg and import stuff. Futaba had to buy them for me because I beat her in Fighters for the Future.”

Ryuji’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “For real?! They had that?!”

Ann leaned coolly against her dresser, taking a nonchalant sip of her drink and finally fighting the urge to wince at the sourness. “Oh yeah. No big deal, just an original Feathenger VS Fighters for the Future cabinet. NOT. The HD port.”

“With the-“

“WITH the awful, awful star shaped button layout.” She winked at him. “And Futaba foolishly bet that she could beat me.”

If Ann was trying to impress him, it didn’t work. Ryuji shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, anyone can beat Futaba. She’s terrible at fighters. Especially ones older than her.”

She pointed her finger at him with the hand currently holding her drink. His eyes went to her fingertip and he felt another tick in his chest. “Ohhhhh no you don’t. I may not be good at much, but I KNOW how good my Feathenger Blue is.”

“You can’t beat mine! I’ve been playing Blue in every Featherman fighter that comes out!”

“Okay but half of those games are trash anyway,” Ann said dismissively. “You wanna go settle this now? The arcade’s still open this late.”

Ryuji’s grin spread to his ears. “Hell yeah, why don’t we? Why don’t we go right now?!”

Ann pushed off of her dresser, ready to march back downstairs, but stopped after one step. “... Because we’re supposed to be doing our homework.”

“Wh- aw dammit! I totally forgot!” Ryuji groaned, his shoulders sagging.

She smiled sheepishly at him. “We probably… should get started on that.”

The energy was hard to maintain when their conversation turned to math. Neither of them were good at, nor enthusiastic about the subject. They crowded around her desk, the least maintained area of her room. It was a tight fit and they were practically shoulder to shoulder, using up as much available space on the desk as possible.

She bumped into him when she raised her arms to run her fingers through her hair. “I-! Just-!” She stammered. “It’s like, I know this stuff, you know?! Like, I get it! The idea! But-!”

“Yeah!” He said. “Like, like, I know how to do it but it’s- Not working!”

She stared at him with wide, frustrated eyes before blurting out “I’m not stupid!” Strangely defensive, as if the homework itself was judging her. “We’re-“ she gestured to herself and then to him, “not stupid!”

“Course not!!” He agreed, feeling equally defensive. “We’re smart!”

“Yeah! It- it’s this!” She slapped a hand on her open textbook. “This thing! Isn’t being fair!”

He nodded rapidly. “It’s askin’ is to do stuff it didn’t teach us!”

They locked eyes, both wound like coiled springs, ready to snap. Waiting for the right trigger to go off. But the clock in her room continued to tick and they simultaneously deflated, reluctantly turning back to their textbooks.

The work continued in silence, progress happening for both of them in short, agonizing bursts. Ryuji stared at a page until the numbers blurred, tapping his pencil on the desk, until he felt something tugging at his hoodie’s cuff.

He looked down at his wrist. Ann had pinched his cuff between her thumb and finger, rubbing the tips back and forth over the fabric. He slowly looked from her hand, up her arm, to her face. She was staring intently into her book, clearly unaware that she was fiddling with his clothes instead of her own.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Instead he watched her, deep in her own thoughts. He glanced down at his work, then back to her, and then back to her hand. And then back to her fingernails.

“Hey, Ann?” He said, his voice only cracking a little.

“Mm?” Her head snapped to face him. He noticed she was still clinging to his shirt, but she clearly didn’t.

“I uh, saw that picture you posted today. The one with your nail polish at the arcade?”

Her expression brightened. “Oh yeah! That was cool, huh?”

“Yeah! I was uh… Actually kinda wondering… Do you… have any of that nail polish left?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, of course, why?”

Ryuji sucked in a deep breath. He could feel his face starting to heat up, and managed to blurt out, before he could hold his breath any longer, “D’you think you could paint my nails like that?!"

She stared at him, not saying anything, as a smile grew wider and wider on her face. Before she could say anything, he cut her off with “C’mon, man, don’t laugh. I was being serious!”

She shook her head, still smiling. “I wasn’t gonna laugh! Like, you mean it? You really want me to paint your nails?”

“Y-yeah! I thought it looked cool, so I figured…”

“Dude. I would LOVE to paint your nails, are you kidding?! Come on, let’s do it!” She slammed her textbook closed with a remarkable lack of hesitation, bounding to the makeup bag on the top of a pile in her closet, and then carrying it to her bed where she sat cross-legged. “Over here!”

He followed her, feeling a great deal of relief now that he had asked and it was out in the open. He didn’t know why he was worried, in hindsight. It’s not like Ann was a judgy person.

He sat in front of her, similarly cross-legged, while Ann pulled a few small bottles and a file from her bag. “Here, lemme see.” She held out her left hand and he placed his right on top of it. She studied his hand, keeping the file to the side. She let out a “Huh,” when she was done with her examination.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, you just… have better nails than I thought you would. I kinda expected them to be all torn up and cracked.” She looked up to see that he was frowning at her, to which she stuck out her tongue.

“What, you think I’m a nail biter or somethin’?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I mean I used to be. That’s why my mom taught me how to paint them when I was little. So I’d stop doing it. Nail polish tastes gross.” She examined his other hand and found it met whatever arbitrary requirements she had. “Alright. You ready? Because once we start, you won’t really be able to use your hands for a while.”

The homework was literally forgotten when he said “Yeah, let’s do this!”

“Okay, cool!” She opened up a bottle of remover first, dabbing it on a cotton ball, taking his hand again, and wiping each nail. “Because it’ll take even longer than normal, because I’ve never painted a guy’s nails before. Or, like, another person’s. And actually, usually I have someone else paint mine when I’m doing photoshoots or something.”

His eyebrow raised and he almost pulled his hand away from hers. “Wait a second! D’you know for sure how to do this?!”

She held the back of her free hand up to his face. “I did this, don’t forget! I’m just saying I need to take my time!” She finished cleaning his nails before saying, almost nonchalantly, “I’m not gonna make you look bad, or else you won’t ask me to do it again.”

She unscrewed the cap for the bottle of base coat and he watched her work slowly, methodically. Her tongue left her mouth involuntarily as she concentrated. Her left hand holding his left steady while her right hand brushed each nail. He shifted where he was sitting and she yelped for him to stop. “Don’t move so much! You’re shaking the bed!”

“You mean I gotta sit here like a statue until you’re done?!”

“Unless you feel like paying for new nail polish AND new sheets!” She huffed, and then in a quiet, sheepish voice, said “Uh… We probably should’ve just done this on the floor…”

“Ann, come on…” He groaned at her.

She laughed in such a sweet way that, despite his best efforts, he laughed too. “Sorry!” She said. “But it’ll be worth it when you see how good you’re gonna look! Beauty is pain, as they say~”

“Pain means leg cramps in this case, huh?”

She resumed where she left off, finishing one hand and moving to the next. Once they were both done, she closed the bottle and leaned back. “Alright, that’s the first layer! Now we just wait for that to dry and we can do it again!”

“Wait, first layer? How many are there?!”

She shrugged casually. “Eh, usually two or three.”

“For real?! And you have to go through it every time!?”

“It’s like I said. Beauty is pain. At least you get someone to talk to.” She shoved Ryuji’s shoulder, knowing full well that he couldn’t retaliate.

The next half hour was spent waiting for the polish to dry, then Ann slowly adding another layer to Ryuji’s nails, then waiting for that to dry, while they filled the silence with whatever was on their minds.

“I wanna get a tattoo in a few years,” he said while she worked on the second layer.

“Oh yeah? What do you wanna get?”

“Captain Kidd’s Jolly Roger on my shoulder. Y’know, like, right here.” He gestured vaguely to his left shoulder.

“Oooooohh… does he have a cool Jolly Roger?”

Ryuji hesitated. “He’s gotta, right? If he’s a cool famous pirate?”

She finished his hand and, before moving onto the next, picked up her phone to search for an image. When she found one, she let out a “Tch!” And held the phone up to his face.

It turned out, the real William Kidd’s flag was less exciting than Ryuji’s Persona made it seem. A skull, looking off to the side, and a cross pattern of bones underneath it. If Ryuji were asked to draw the most generic Jolly Roger he could think of, that would be his response.

“Are you for real?! That’s what it looks like?!” He groaned.

“I guess! That’s totally lame!” Ann seemed to be equally disappointed. “You can’t get that for a tattoo. Get Yusuke to draw you something way cooler.”

It was while Ann was finishing the second coat when she announced “I should get a tattoo…”

He stared blankly at her. “Are you allowed to? Like, as a model?”

“Oh yeah totally!” She said with total confidence. “As long as it isn’t, like, obscene or anything.” She then let out a gasp of realization. “We should get matching tattoos!”

“You think?!”

“Yeah yeah yeah! If we’re gonna have matching hair and matching nails!” She screwed the cap back on the bottle of polish. “One more layer to go, by the way.”

To Ryuji, they already looked done. A solid coat of white on each finger. But Ann was the expert, so he would do what she said. She shifted to sit on the side of her bed, leaning back on her hands. He reached up, almost brushing his fingers through his hair, but stopping just in time. “You like my hair like this?”

“At this point, I can’t even imagine you with black hair. Like, I’m looking at you right now? And I can’t picture it.” She demonstrated by staring at him like she was trying to see through his lies. “Nope. Can’t do it.”

“Heh. Guess I’ll keep bleaching it, then.”

She looked shocked. “You were gonna stop?!”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t plannin’ on stoppin’, I just… Wasn’t gonna keep it forever. If that makes sense?”

“I think you should keep it forever.” She said it like it wasn’t a big deal, but there was a notable softness in her voice that surprised him. She turned away from him.

A silence hung over them, heavier than the average awkward silence. Ryuji fumbled for something to say, anything to move on from this moment. He managed to awkwardly stammer out “I guess one day I won’t have to bleach it anymore.”

That got her to turn back toward him, a look of confusion on her face.

“Y’know. Because it’ll go white on its own?”

She stifled a laugh, but not for long. “Yeah, or it’ll all fall out!”

“Dude! Don’t say that!” He said, horrified. “I don’t wanna think about losin’ my hair!”

She pointed at him in a faux-accusatory gesture. “You’re gonna look like Sojiro when you’re old.”

“Nooooooo, don’t say that! “Don’t put that image in my head, that’s so effed up.”

Ann kept laughing at the horrified expression on his face. “It’s the most messed up thing I can think of.”

“Come on, it’d be bad, but not the MOST effed up thing to happen.”

“And what WOULD be the most effed up thing to ever happen?”

He paused to think of an answer, reaching deep into the darkest parts of his mind. “The most effed up thing ever… would be if we found out that the sun was actually alive.”

She went silent too, but this time he could see it was because the gears in her head were turning, as a look of dawning horror spread across her face. “That’s so fucking terrifying,” she whispered.

The laughter the two of them burst into meant that whatever Ann was concerned about earlier was long forgotten. They continued talking like normal, until she was partway through the last coat, where she froze. “I can’t stop thinking about that. What if the SUN was ALIVE?! What would we DO?!”

She finally finished the last coat and, when Ryuji looked at it compared to hers, he had to admit it was worth it. “Cool…” he murmured as he admired her work.

She tossed everything back into her makeup bag and then shifted next to him on the bed, their shoulders pressed together. She held up her hand next to his and held her phone in the other. With a bit of awkward maneuvering, she snapped a picture and immediately got to work posting it on her Instagram. “Too bad I don’t have a blacklight here in my room. Then we could really show off.”

“Guess the two of us will HAVE to go to that arcade, huh?” He grinned at her. Then he felt a tingling at the back of his head again. That almost sounded like he was asking her out.

“Totally!” She said. A bit quicker than he expected. Was it really just that easy? He wasn’t even thinking about it when he said it, and she agreed so easily. Granted, it wasn’t explicitly a date, so he would have to-

The pinging of her phone alerted her of a new comment and snapped Ryuji out of his thought process. She opened the app again and squealed. “Oh gosh, Shiho says you look totally cute!”

He could feel his cheeks going red at the compliment. “Haha, wow, people already like it. Hey… How is she, anyway?”

Ann frowned. “She’s… Y’know. Alright. We’re still talking a lot but it’s kinda hard for her to make friends after. Everything that happened.” She rubbed her arms. “Y’know. Being in a new place and all that. Plus…” she trailed off, but Ryuji knew full well what she was talking about.

It was the one thing the three of them had in common. Even though it was over, long over, their run-ins with Kamoshida didn’t fade away. Even sitting still, cross-legged on her bed while she painted his nails, his knee had stiffened up. It was just another reminder.

“You get to visit her at all?” He asked.

“Yeah a few times… it’s just hard. Ugh.” She exhaled. “We’re fine! We’re all fine!” She typed something into her phone. Ryuji could see it was a response to Shiho’s comment but he couldn’t read what she was saying. Then her attention went back to him. “You’re right, though! We should hit the arcade next weekend!”

Ryuji appreciated Ann getting the conversation back on track but now the atmosphere felt different. Just different enough that he was second guessing the date idea. Maybe now wasn’t the time. Maybe he should wait, or not ask at all.

Still, he did want to spend more time with her. So instead he flashed her a smile and said “Hell yeah! We can ask Akira and Futaba and everyone to come too!”

He saw, for just a second, that her smile faltered, but she recovered quickly. “It’s been a while since all of us hung out together! Outside of Thief stuff, I mean.” Her smile turned devious. “Actually, I’m sure Futaba’ll be eager for a rematch…”

One message to the group chat for everyone to clear their schedules, and the two of them realized how late into the evening it had gotten. 10:00 on a school night was enough to get Ryuji in trouble. The two of them chatted for a bit longer before Ryuji started to pack up his things. He stood in front of Ann’s desk when his blood ran cold, and echoes of his promise to have all his homework done by the time he came home bounced off mind. He slowly turned around, letting Ann see the look of dread and agony on his face. As the realization dawned on her too, a similar expression appeared.

“I guess… I can’t leave yet…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a tweet from Ann’s voice actress https://twitter.com/erikaharlacher/status/1124850660435009537?s=21


End file.
